On August 12, Saturday, I explored practical examples of choosing home equipment in Japan with participants at the ESD forum 2011, Tokyo. A contribution to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
In it, I present my personal approach of choosing home appliances, by simply comparing LCC (life cycle cost) and relating examples to McKinsey cost curves. Slides now shared online. The videos I showed are not embedded but linked on their slides near the bottom.
Presentation props
Part of the live discussion not contained in the slides was showing everyday examples and briefly explaining the potential impacts and payback time at electricity rates in Japan. The power strip with switches to reduce standby, three technologies of lightbulbs two of which help save, and the mundane dorbell / intercom that sucks energy 24/7 for 8760 hours a year.
| device | purpose | estimated payback time |
|---|---|---|
| electric power strip with switch |
minimize standby waste | 3-6 months in an office-like setting. Pulling all the plugs when not in use pays immediately. |
| lightbulbs 60W incandescent 12W CFL 9W LED |
light up on stage | for lights used 4h/day, CFL beats incandescent in 3-6 months. LED still expensive, may take 4 years. Changing from CFL to LED will pay only when LED prices fall much further. |
| a typical doorbell/intercom unit | illustrate impact of 5W standby for 42 million households in Japan | not applicable, builder chooses, not tenant. If 0.1W technology newly installed, no added cost. If replaced, > 10 years |
One prior project of mine was going solar in Yokohama, it is on the way to pay back as scheduled, but started with a disappointment. An upcoming green project is replacing aging gas boilers with a small home co-generation unit. There should be a return on investment. Looking forward to more rewarding technologies to become available.
What would you add?
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